Mattress Recycling Laws

in the States

Chris Hudgins

Mattress Recycling Council

The Mattress Industry

• About 95% of US mattress manufacturers are small businesses

• 90% of mattresses are assembled domestically

• Roughly 40 million units are sold annually in the U.S.

• Approximately 20 million units are disposed of annually

Mattress Recycling

• 30+ mattress recyclers in U.S.

• Many are non-profit organizations or partnerships

• Most use manual labor to dismantle the mattress

• Processing fees range from $5 to $50/unit

Mattress Recycling Laws

• In 2013, the International Sleep Products Association (ISPA) worked with lawmakers, state and city officials and environmental groups to pass mattress recycling legislation in California, Connecticut & Rhode Island.

• ISPA supported these laws because they included a visible, point-of-sale fee to fund a mattress recycling program

Mattress Recycling Laws

• Mattress Recycling Council (MRC) formed by ISPA in 2013

• 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization

• Tasked with designing, implementing and administering mattress recycling programs in states with such laws

• Each state has its own program

Mattress Recycling Laws

• Mattress Stewardship Organization

• Producers and/or retailers must join or

register

• Must develop and administer a statewide

program to recycle mattresses

• Establish a fee to fund the program

• Issue annual reports to regulators

Program Requirements

• Provide for management of discarded mattresses

• Funded by the organization using fee revenues

• Provide collection or receipt of mattresses from municipal waste sites, retailers, bulk generators

– Participation is voluntary!

• Administer an education program

Mattress Collection

• Programs will use existing collection methods when feasible

• Consumers will continue to use traditional disposal options:

o Retailer take back with new purchase

o Transfer station drop-off

o Municipal curbside collection

• Drop off at designated consolidation points • Mattresses transported from consolidation sites to

recyclers at MRC’s expense

Connecticut

• Program launched May 1, 2015

• Recycling fee $9.00 per unit

• 1/3 municipal sites already expressed interest in

participating

• Retailers, educational institutions, hotels, military

• MRC staff contact: Justine Fallon,

jfallon@mattressrecyclingcouncil.org

Rhode Island

• MRC program plan due on July 1, 2015

• RFP for transportation and recycling closed

• Fee to be determined

• Expected launch early 2016

• MRC staff contact: Justine Fallon,

jfallon@mattressrecyclingcouncil.org

California

• MRC certified as stewardship organization

• MRC program plan due on July 1, 2015

• RFP for transportation and recycling closed

• Fee to be determined

• Expected launch early 2016

• MRC staff contacts: No. CA - Rodney Clara,

rclara@mattressrecyclingcouncil.org

• So. CA - Mark Patti, mpatti@mattressrecyclingcouncil.org

Program Administration

• mattressrecyclingcouncil.org

– mrcreporting.org

• byebemattress.com

• Auditing and anti-fraud controls

for mattress sellers, transporters

and recyclers

Public Education & Outreach

• Outreach to stakeholders and industry

• Training and compliance videos

• Consumer facing brand – Bye Bye Mattress

• Participant locator

• Point of sale materials

• Print, online and other ads and materials

• PSAs

Chris Hudgins

Vice President, Industry & External Affairs

Mattress Recycling Council

P: (855) 229-1691

chudgins@mattressrecyclingcouncil.org

www.mattressrecyclingcouncil.org